The wind felt fresh on his skin and he smiled happily. Beneath him was a city, people so small they seemed like mere toys and sounds far away. All he felt was the cool breeze and the little drops of water coating his body while he was floating in the air, carried by the wind and his strong, big wings. He laughed and moved his arms, pulling his wings close to his body and tilting forwards. Heads on he shot down like an arrow, breaking through the clouds and the air, aiming for the ground. Adrenalin shook his body and made his heart race. With a loud cry of joy he opened his wings shortly before he landed on a building and was abruptly lifted up again, the air pulling and ripping on his wings, pulling him away from the ground and back up in the air. He moved them up and down, let them carry him over the city leisurely. He watched the people on the ground while he was circling in the air. They didn't know what was above them, didn't look up, too busy to care about the beautiful sun and the little clouds in the air. They didn't know about him. He giggled and a deep sound left his mouth as he moved his wings constantly. The strong muscles in his shoulders tensed and the wings lifted him up further, carrying him through the clouds and above them. He twirled and circled, bathing in the warm sunlight and letting the rays warm him up. After a few more rounds he flew out of the city with strong, hurried flaps of his wings. He missed something, he wanted to see someone. The image of a pair of sweet, red lips and slightly squinted eyes made his heart flutter. Slowly the houses from the city thinned out and only now and then there was a small cottage, a little shed and small roads left. The fields got bigger, the trees more numerous. The different shades of green and brown, yellow, red, orange made him smile. 'So beautiful...' he pulled his wings closer and softly let himself sink down, closer to the ground. He flew over a little stripe of trees until his eyes caught sight of a little man and a small car standing on a road in the middle of nowhere. His heart skipped a beat and with a quick move of his muscles he was shooting to the ground. With a loud thud and wide opened wings he landed on the soft grass. The man in front of him still seemed small but it was okay. Soon he'd be able to hold him in his arms, embrace him and kiss him. The man hurried closer, a small pile of clothes in his hands and the beautiful lips curved up in a smile. The man lifted a hand and he bowed his long neck to bring his head on the same level as the man's outstretched arm, letting the man his forehead and long nose.

"Did you enjoy your flight?", the man whispered and chuckled as the animal nodded his head furiously and blew warm air out of his nostrils. "I'll take that as a yes. But... you have to come back now, I can't hug you like this."

The animal let out soft cries and the man chuckled.

"I know, I know. But I miss you... Kris."

---

"... miss you... Kris. I really do but it's fine. I'll wait for you, you have to rest and heal. It's fine, I- I'm fine."

Kris' sensitive ears picked up the sound of a person moving and the mattress dipped lightly. Someone sat next to him and gently caressed his cheeks. 'Tao...' He tried to open his eyes but they felt so heavy, it was so hard. He heard a quiet sniffle and his heart clenched. 'He's crying!? Why is he crying...?' After what seemed like ages he managed to open them a tiny bit, just enough to see something. The first thing he saw was white, everything was a blinding white. He groaned but nothing came out of his throat. It felt dry and hurt so much he felt like he hadn't drank a drop of water for weeks. With a huge effort he managed to keep his eyes open a slight gap and the white faded, leaving stars and twinkles back until they faded away slowly and his vision turned clear. He saw a wall, white and blank. There was nothing on it, not even a picture and it seemed cold, impresonal. Further down there were light blue and white sheets. 'My sheets?' He tried to lift his head but it felt like it was screwed to the mattress he was lying on, too heavy. Exhausted he closed his eyes and nearly fell asleep again. He felt so tired, so worn out. But his heart ached, longing to hear that special voice, longing to touch soft skin and kiss that pair of red lips. Why did his heart hurt so much? How long had he been like this?

"You're really taking your sweet time Kris. But I guess it's better that way. You just rest and I'll be here for you when you wake up. That's right, it's gonna be just fine."

'Tao...! Tao!' He tried to move his lips, say the man's name. His body felt like he was paralized and he could have screamed in frustration. Although he couldn't move he felt his eyes water at the exhaustion and frustration. A soft sniffle and the sound of someone mumbling 'not again!' reached him. 'TAO!' His throat clenched and hurt, felt like it was on fire. He wanted to open his eyes, look at the younger! He wanted to see him, talk to him! Suddendly he felt something reaching out for him in his head. It felt like someone was pushing against a barrier there, making it move but not braking it. He pulled back and quickly focused on the movement in his head. He met with a pitchblack wall made of a elastic material and his eyes widened in realisation. 'The barrier I made!' Slowly everything that had happened came back to him. The excrutiating pain, the feeling of being torn apart and compressed into a new form, the haze in his mind, the blood, the screams. It was like a nightmare all over. But this time it was just his memory, not the actual thing and he tried to calm himself, slightly panicked and lost, overwhelmed by the mental images and feelings of him lying on the floor and screaming in pain and a lone tear slowly rolled down his cheek.